Smells Like Teen Spirit
by coffee666
Summary: Dana Scully is a straight-A student, hoping to get into a pre-med program after graduation, and Fox Mulder is a grungey loner, obsessed with the paranormal and unexplained. When the two are paired up for a video project, Scully starts to realize how little labels truly define a person, as Mulder takes her into the forest where a UFO ship is rumored to be landing. **COMPLETE
1. Pilot

Scully stood in front of the bathroom mirror, a hair brush in one hand. It took concentration to get the ponytail perfectly symmetrical. She tied her hair up just as she heard a knock on the door.

"Dana, come on!" her younger brother Charles sighed.

Scully rolled her eyes before quickly trying a red ribbon around her ponytail. It perfectly matched her cheerleading jacket, as well as the school colors. She opened the bathroom door to see her brother waiting in the hall way.

"Aren't you gonna be hot in that jacket?" he asked.

"Jack has air conditioning in his car."

"I thought you weren't dating Jack anymore?" Charles asked.

"I'm not…" Scully tried not to get annoyed at his prying.

"Well, then why does he have to pick you up? Take the bus like everyone else."

"Oh, mind your own business!" Scully grabbed her book bag and dashed outside before she could lose her temper anymore.

She had enough to worry about this morning as it was, without a freshman rattling her. It was the first day of her senior year, and she was actually finding herself nervous. It wasn't as if it's be all that different than last year, she knew most of the teachers, having had them before for other classes, there was just one teacher who she was worried about. Mr. Barren was the strictest teacher in the school. He graded harder than anyone, and his government class was a required credit to graduate. Scully had heard many a rumor of people not passing his class, and requiring summer school to graduate. She tried not to worry, she'd always been an A, and occasional B, student after all.

She smiled when she saw Jack pull up in the parking lot outside her building. She opened the passenger door and slid in.

"Hey Dana, you're actually ready on time." Jack smiled the same charming smile that Scully had fallen for two years ago.

"I wouldn't get used to it." Scully flipped down the sun visor and examined her make-up in the mirror.

"Hey, look you look fine." Jack said, side-eyeing her from the driver's seat.

"Jack…" Scully felt her cheeks grown warm. She didn't want to verge into that territory with him again.

"What? It's just a compliment." Scully ignored him, flipping the visor back up and leaning back in her seat.

As they halted at a red light, Scully's thoughts drifted back to the night she and Jack broke up at the beginning of the summer. They'd been sitting in his car, just like this. He'd taken it hard. She remembered his swearing and punching the steering wheel. Scully remember staying stony faced and not even crying. She didn't cry that night either, which was weird. She wasn't one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but she would have at least cried in private if she'd wanted to. Maybe that had been a sign.

Jack's snickering snapped her back to the present. She raised an eyebrow at him and he gestured out the window.

"Get a load of Spooky Mulder."

Scully leaned forward and looked out the window. She watched as Fox Mulder plowed somberly down the sidewalk. He was wearing a faded denim jacket with the collar turned up. Beads of sweat clung to his temples as he trudged along, his eyes downcast.

"Why is he wearing a jacket?" Jack scoffed.

"Hey, sometimes it's cold inside the school." Scully said shortly. "At least, that's why I'm wearing one…And I don't know why you, Darren and those other guys give Fox such a hard time…"

"The guys a weirdo." Jack said. "Like, really weird. Haven't you heard?"

"I've heard things." Scully snapped once more. "I just don't believe things I don't see for myself."

Jack didn't say anything as they pulled into the parking lot. All of the seniors had to go the gym for an assembly. Scully walked with Jack until he spotted a few of his friends and went off with them, but Scully didn't mind. Jack was the kind of person you got sick of after a while. Sometimes she wondered how she ever dated him.

"Hey, Dana!" Scully turned to see Ellen, a good friend of hers from the cheer squad. The fell into line together as the seniors filed into the gym.

"So, how was your summer?" Scully asked as they look seats at the top of the bleachers.

"I'm still sore from cheer camp!" Ellen said dramatically, stretching her feet out onto the seats in front of them.

"Me too." Scully lied. Truthfully, she loved cheer camp for the work out. She actually loved going for runs and cheer practice because the work out was a way to wind down from studying all the time. Though, if she wanted to get into a pre-med program after graduation, she'd have to study even after this year.

"So, how's the break-up with Jack going? You know everyone was really shocked to find out." Ellen had a hint of sympathy in her voice, something Scully detested.

"It's fine." She found herself sounding sharper than intended. She softened her voice. "I'm sorry, I'd just rather not talk about it."

Scully sighed as she glanced around the gym. Most of the senior class had arrived by now. The principal was setting up the podium as Scully spotted the same faded jacket from earlier.

Fox Mulder sat a few rows below them. From this angle, she could clearly see the large patch on the back of his jacket. A brightly colored UFO stared back at her. It wasn't the oddest bit of fashion she'd seen since the start of the nineties, and her high school years – but it did make her laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ellen asked.

"Nothing." Scully said quickly.

"Oh, you're laughing at Spooky Mulder." Ellen nodded, noticing him. "Yea, I saw him on my way to school this morning. He is so weird."

Scully sighed but didn't say anything as the principal started the assembly. She listened to him go on about how, as seniors, the whole school would be looking up to them. As he droned on, Scully's gaze travelled down to Fox Mulder again. He was leaned back now, his back leaning against his book bag and his chin dropped down onto his chest. His eyes were closed, and Scully wondered how he could sleep in a crowded noisy gym.

Finally, the principal dismissed everyone to go pick up their schedules and get to class. Scully stood up and watched as Fox Mulder opened his eyes and sat up. He sighed before for starting to get his stuff together.

"Why do you keep looking at Spooky Mulder?" Ellen asked.

"I wasn't." Scully said quickly.

After she got her schedule, she went to her first class. It just happened to be Mr. Barren's class. Everyone was standing around talking as she walked in the room. Mr. Barren was writing on the board.

"Hi Dana." A few people called to her. She greeted them as she sat in an empty desk by the door. Scully glanced around the room and saw Jack sitting in the back with Darren. She looked to the wall opposite her and saw Fox Mulder sitting by himself, gazing out the window. She'd never really noticed how he didn't seem to have any friends. The thought made her feel sad, but she quickly pushed it away, after all, she wouldn't want a stranger to feel pity for her if she were in that position.

"Alright, everyone sit down." Mr. Barren barked. Once everyone was seated, he began passing out a rubric. As he marched up and down the aisles, Scully started to understand what everyone meant about him being intimidating. She wondered why he wasn't the on everyone called spooky.

"This project is 40% of your final grade. I suggest you don't screw it up. Each of you will work with a partner, for the next school year, to create an educational and informative video project." He dropped one of the rubrics onto Scully's desk before moving onto the next one.

"The video should be at least ten minutes long, but no longer than fifteen. You will use the AV equipment provided in the labs, don't break anything." He picked up a small basket off of his desk. His stony gaze travelled around the room. You could hear a pin drop.

"In this box is one slip of paper per young man in this class. I will go around and every lady will select one. You must learn to work with your partner all year to have this ready in time for presenting, the week before spring break. There will be NO switching partners."

Scully heard a few quiet murmurs break out amongst the students, and saw a few worried glances exchanged. Scully sighed. She wondered if she'd be partnered with Jack. It wouldn't be so bad, she's be able to work with him pretty well, considering they knew each other so well already. She just didn't want to spend more time with him this year then she had to, she was starting to realize that now.

She felt slightly relieved when a girl named Molly selected Jack's name. Scully's heart beat quickly as Mr. Barren stopped at her desk next. As she reached into the box, she could only pray that it wouldn't be Darren, he was even worse than Jack.

Her fingers slowly filtered through the box. She knew psychic powers didn't exist, but she knew that if they did, she'd use them to pick the name of someone who was at least half-way decent. Mr. Barren cleared his throat sharply, as if telling her to hurry up. Scully grabbed one of the slips and pulled it out. She could have sworn all eyes of the class were on her as she unfolded the piece of paper.

The name starred up at her in the same handwriting that donned the blackboard, but Scully couldn't bear to say it aloud. The teacher's words of no switching partners was now ringing in her ears.

"Fox Mulder." Mr. Barren barked, reading the paper over her shoulder. "You'll be working with Dana Scully."

Immediately a chorus of laugher broke out. Scully kept her eyes trained down on her lap, and on that god-forsaken slip of paper.

"Quiet!" the teacher said, before moving on.

Finally, the last pair of partners was chosen and Mr. Barren began to go over the project in more detail. Only when the class was focused again, did Scully look up.

She turned around and looked at Jack. He was whispering something to Darren and they were laughing. She then looked over at Fox Mulder. He was looking out the window, an emotionless expression on his face. As if sensing eyes on his, he turned and looked her way for the first time all morning.

Scully quickly looked back to the front of the room, shoving the piece of paper with Mulder's name on it into her jacket pocket. After a minute, she looked back at him. He was just starring out the window.


	2. Lithium

It was pouring rain by the time school let out that afternoon. Mulder sighed as he stopped by his locker after class. He wanted to get home as soon as possible, but he knew he couldn't leave the janitor to scrub off the word "Spooky" someone had scrawled on his locker. He had a feeling he knew who did it, but he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of watching him get upset over it.

He tried to put on a face of good natured amusement as he scrubbed at the maker with a damp paper towel. Luckily, it was in dry erase marker, so it came off easily. Though, that didn't stop the snickers of people walking by. Honestly, weren't they supposed to be seniors? This was childish humor.

"Hi." Mulder ignored the voice behind him, figuring it was addressed at someone else. He waded the paper towel up in his hand and turned to go toss it in the trash. He stopped when he almost bumped into someone standing behind him.

"Hi." Dana Scully said again, nervously reaching up to tuck a stray lock of red hair behind her ear.

"Hi." Mulder replied, shoving the paper towel into his jacket pocket, amongst other trash.

"So, I guess we should get working on the project." She said. "Or at least, figure out what our topic should be."

"Oh, you mean you don't wanna wait until the last minute like everyone else?" Mulder asked, keeping his cool exterior. "We have like six months to do this."

"Of course not!" he was amused by the way she got so fired up so quickly. "The reason we have so long is because it's a lot to get done. So I think we should get started soon, okay Fox?"

"Don't call me that." He said quickly. "Mulder is fine….and uh, I'm pretty sure I already have an idea of what our project should be. When can go over it tomorrow at lunch."

"Alright." She nodded, content in getting started soon.

"Well…bye." He said awkwardly, turning to leave.

"Hey wait." Mulder stopped when he felt her reach out and grab his arm. Usually people were dodging him in the hallways to avoid brushing shoulders.

"What?" he asked, his cool exterior faltering for a second.

"If you're walking home, I have an umbrella you could borrow." She said.

He blinked, taken aback by the sudden kindness. A brief image of him walking down the street with a girl's umbrella made the decision for him.

"Uh, that's okay." He replied.

"No, really, it's no big deal." She pulled a black collapsible umbrella from the side pouch of her book bag. "You can just give it back to me tomorrow."

"Okay, thanks." He said, taking it from her.

Mulder stood outside the school building after parting ways with Scully. He leaned against the building to avoid the rain, and watching the parking lot. He waited until he saw Scully get into Jack's car, and the two of them drive away, before starting his own walk home.

As his body stayed dry, and his feet sloshed through puddles, he thought of how it was really nice of Scully to lend him an umbrella. Of course, if she was really nice then she'd have just given him a ride. But, she was just like everyone else. She spoke to him when her grades were at stake, and then she just got into Jack Willis' car and drove off.

He tried not to let his prejudice against Jack taint his opinion of Scully. She might be riding with him, but he heard the rumor mill just like everyone else. And according to that morning's locker room gossip, Dana Scully and Jack Willis were no longer dating.

Maybe working with her wouldn't be so bad. She was at least willing to listen to his idea for the project, even though, if anyone knew him at all, they'd know exactly what he wanted to do it on.

As Mulder approached his small house, he wasn't surprised to find the drive way empty. On days that both his parents made it to work, they both stayed out late. He collapsed the umbrella and reached under the welcome mat for the spare key. But as he reached for the door he found it was already unlocked.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He walked into the living room and sighed when he saw his mother laying on the couch. There weren't any bottles around, though the faint smell of alcohol lingered. The lights were dimmed and the tv cast a glow across her face. An old quilt was draped over her.

"I thought you were at work." Mulder said to his mother.

"I'm sick." She replied, her voice slower than normal and her eyes fixed on the tv. "How was school?"

She seemed to ask on routine. It's not like she really cared. Though Mulder couldn't blame her – he didn't really care either.

"It was fine." He replied. "I have to do a video project. It seems really hard…I might fail this year."

"…Sounds fun." His mother replied, not looking at him.

It was almost comical how little she listened, though he couldn't find the energy to laugh. He turned and started upstairs to his room. He opened his door and tossed his book bag to the floor. It landed amongst a pile of clothes.

He made sure his door was closed before shedding his jacket, and then carefully pulled off his t-shirt. He winced as he carefully examined the bruised on his arms. Luckily, they seemed to be faded enough that perhaps he wouldn't have to wear a jacket all day tomorrow.

He put his shirt back on before crouching down at the foot of his bed and reaching beneath it. Amongst the dirty magazines and even dirtier clothes, was a box that he hadn't looked in since last year. He pulled it out and carefully lifted the lid.

Amongst the magazine clippings and blurry polaroid photos, was an old newspaper page. He sighed as his eyes scanned the same words he'd read countless times before.

 _Samantha Mulder, age 8, was kidnapped Saturday night. She was taken from her home in a small town in Washington at about 1:30 am._

Mulder couldn't bear to read the rest. He put the page back in his box and reached for the item at the very bottom. The framed photo of him and his sister sat heavy in his hands. He spent time looking at it, as well some of the other items in the box. He was so lost in it that he jumped when he heard he father downstairs.

"God dammit!" his father's voice boomed.

Mulder quickly threw the items into the box and shoved it back under the bed. He jumped to his feet and ran downstairs.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

His father stood in the middle of the kitchen. His mother sat at the kitchen table, smoking a cigarette.

"Someone stole our trashcans off the back porch." His father said angrily.

"Again?!" Mulder sighed. The same thing had happened at the start of the summer.

"Dammit, why didn't you keep watch today!?" Mulder gasped as his father roughly grabbed his arm.

"I-I was at school!" Mulder replied, trying no cry out.

"School!?" a look of confusion, as if briefly trying to remember the date, crossed his father's face before he let go of his son's arm. Mulder immediately stepped back, lightly rubbing his sore arm with his other hand.

"I just worry about you, son." His father said, running a hand through his hair and sighing. "Imagine if the thief had broken inside and you were here! They might have tried something…there's no way you could defend yourself!"

Mulder scowled, taking offense. It's not like he was weak or anything. He stood a head taller than his mother. Though he didn't dare talk back. He also didn't dare mention that his mother had been home all day.

"I just worry about you, boy." His father said again.

' _But not enough to keep your fucking hands off me.'_ Mulder thought bitterly.

"We're going out for a while." His mother said. She stood up and ground her cigarette into the ash tray on the table. "Make sure you keep all the doors locked."

"Don't answer the door or phone." His father said. His mother grabbed her sweater from the hook by the door. She reached into the pocket and grabbed something.

She waited until her husband was outside starting the car before passing it to her son.

"Here's some money for dinner." She said. "It's okay if you answer the door for pizza delivery." She opened the front door before looking back and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I love you."

"Love you too." Mulder replied.

He waited until he heard them drive off before locking door. He then ran back into the kitchen and made sure the back door was locked as well. Glancing out, he could see that the rain had stopped.

When the house was secure, he carefully picked the lock to his father's office to use the computer. He had a few internet friends that kept him posted on sightings across the country. He checked his email, scanning it for any updates about Washington, but sighed when he saw nothing.

He went back out to the living room and reached under the couch for the bottle of scotch his mother had been drinking from earlier. He reached between the cushions and found a loose cigarette. Up in his room, he opened his window before climbing out onto the roof.

He stayed up there for a long time, sipping on the scotch and taking puffs of the cigarette. After a while, everything started to get blurry. When he looked up at the sky, the stars seemed to blur together.

Mulder thought of his sister. If she were here, would things be different? Maybe his mother wouldn't drink and his father wouldn't have such a short temper.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, just feeling the world spinning around him.


	3. Plush

Scully took a sip of her morning coffee before turning on the news. She had about ten minutes before she had to leave for school, and she liked to stay informed on current events – especially for her government class.

"Damn, can you believe it?" her mother asked, shaking her head at the current story unfolding. "Some people have no respect for living creatures."

Scully watched the reported talk about how a local resident's cow had been stolen from its pasture, only to find it mutilated a few miles away.

"Maybe it was another animal." Scully's older brother said from the kitchen table.

"No, they say it doesn't look like an animal…or human." Scully's mother reported back from the den, reading the scroll along the bottom of the screen.

"Well, I have to go." Scully said, finishing her coffee.

"You're leaving early." Her mother observed.

"I'm walking today." Scully didn't wait around for them to ask questions, before heading out the door. She pushed open the front doors of the apartment building and was relieved to see the weather was nice.

She tied her jacket around her waist and started off. The walk was farther than it seemed when driving, and even lonelier with no one to talk to. Scully stopped at a street corner and was slightly taken aback to see Mulder walking up the sidewalk to her left.

"Hi." Scully greeted him.

"Damn…I just realized I forgot to bring you back your umbrella." Was his response.

"Oh, that's okay." She waved it off.

"So, why are you walking?" he asked her as they crossed the street and fell into step beside each other. "Did mister cool kick you out of his coolsmobile?"

" _No._ " Scully said, rolling her eyes. "I _like_ walking. It's good for you."

' _And I wouldn't ride with mister cool this morning even if he begged.'_ Scully thought, remembering the way Jack had spoken to her on the ride home yesterday. He'd honestly asked her why she's been talking to Mulder. As if she couldn't talk to anyone she pleased.

"Who likes walking?" Mulder asked.

"Lots of people. At least they do when they can keep up…Not so fast, my legs are a lot shorter." She said, slightly out of breath. She jogged a few steps to keep up with him.

"O-oh sorry." He said quickly, slowing his pace. "I didn't know we were walking together, I just thought we were walking near each other."

Scully looked at him, trying to figure out if he was teasing her. He just had that same serious expression he'd had yesterday.

"I don't get how you make this walk everyday if you hate walking." Scully glanced up at him out of the corner of her eye, and was pleased when she saw him crack a smile.

"I kinda have to." He replied. "My dad takes the car to work, and I refuse to take the bus."

"I know what you mean." Scully nodded. "My dad takes his car, and my brother takes our other car to college every day."

"Well, then why'd you stop riding with mister cool?" Mulder asked, cracking another smile.

"W-why are you calling Jack that?" Scully couldn't help but laugh.

"What, he has some choice nicknames for everyone. Thought I'd give him one back."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember?" Mulder asked, turning all the way towards her. "He was the first one to call me Spooky Mulder."

"R-really!?" Scully almost stopped in her tracks. She'd heard the nickname – more of an insult, really, spoken hundreds of times before. She'd never given much thought to where it had originated. It had just sprung up sometime between seventh and eighth grade.

"Why would Jack do that?" Scully wracked her brain for that time period. "Oh wait – weren't you and Jack both on the –"

"Lacrosse team, yeah." Mulder finished her thought. "And we were friends…sort of. But man, you start acting a little depressed and suddenly the whole school thinks you're spooky."

"Well, I don't think you're spooky." Scully told him.

"Oh please," he scoffed. "I know you've heard the rumors – the stuff they say about me."

"Who cares," She said quickly. "About some rumors, half of which probably aren't even true."

"I'm sorry…it's just." He started quietly.

"I get it." Her voice was soft. "No one likes to feel left out."

"I try not to let it get to me." He kept his head down. "But when you go all day at school talking to no one, and sometime even _after_ you get home from school." He sighed. "Let's just say, getting left alone with your own thoughts for so long can give you a few demons."

Scully actually felt like someone was pricking at her heart with a needle. She didn't want to feel this way, she wouldn't want a stranger to pity her. But maybe, they weren't actually strangers anymore.

"Well, I'll tell you what." She lifted her chin confidently. "I'll walk with you from now on."

"Thanks, Scully, but I don't need a pity walk." Was his reply.

"It's not pity!" she said, taking a mental note of how he called her by her last name. "I like walking with you. It's fun."

"This is fun?" he asked, gesturing to their surroundings of the school yard as they approached campus.

"Well, It's no Disney Land." Scully rolled her eyes with a laugh. "But it is fun. You're a very interesting person, Mulder."

"Interesting, but not spooky?" he asked with a smile.

"Definitely not." She laughed. "But you're very different than what I thought."

"Actually, I can say the same thing about you too." He told her.

Scully was not one to where her heart on her sleeve in most cases, but being a redhead, her blushiness tended to betray that.

"What…what did you think I was like?" she asked, cheeks warm.

"Well, what did you think I was like?" he asked back.

"I don't know." She said quickly.

"Well, then I don't know either." He smiled.

They got to the classroom just as Mr. Barren was closing the door. He told then to watch the time and to try not to be late again. As Scully took her seat by the door, she realized she didn't have confirmed plans for lunch with Mulder to talk about the project.

"Hey Mulder." She whispered across the room. "Wait for me at lunch, okay?"

He gave her a thumbs up from his seat by the window. Scully tried to pretend she didn't hear the chorus of whispers that broke out, or feel the stares on the back of her neck as she got out her notebook and started on the lecture notes.

The lunchroom was crowded when Scully finally made it their from her last morning class. She saw that Mulder had actually saved her a seat. He was sitting by himself at a table by the wall. She set her lunch tray on the table before reaching into her book bag.

"Okay, so, project details…" she started.

"Ew, school work." Mulder replied, eating his fries with a bored expression.

"Hey, you were the one who said you already had an idea." She reminded him. She placed the project rubric on the table alone with her notebook, turned to a fresh page. "Let's hear it, then."

"Um…okay." He sounded suddenly nervous as he sat up in his seat. "So uh, I don't know if you watch the news. But there's been this problem that local farmers have been having…"

"You mean that cow thing?" Scully asked.

"So you do watch the news." He nodded approvingly. "I like a cultured woman."

"Wait, so what about the cows?" Scully asked, ignoring her blushing cheeks.

"Okay, so, all of these cows have been found to be torn apart by something." Mulder started up again. "And…according to my internet sources, all of the cows that they've found so far had the same mark on them. It looked like, like this…"

He grabbed a pencil and drew three small circles on Scully's notebook. They were arranged sort of like a pyramid.

"So?" she asked, still not understanding where he was going with this.

"So? Remember what the police reports said? No human or animal could have done this. So that means…" he eyes seemed to light up and he was looking more alive than she'd ever seen him.

She looked him in the eyes and instantly realized what he meant.

"Mulder, I know what you're going to say," she started cautiously. "But please don't say—"

"Aliens!" Mulder banged his fist on the table.

Scully knew that her response would either make or break this partnership. She took a deep breath and tried to articulate her words carefully.

"Mulder, you can't possibly think that aliens have been visiting our small town without anyone noticing?" she asked.

"But they have been noticing!" Mulder insisted. "It's all over the internet forums. This is a classic case of extraterrestrial interference."

"A classic case." Scully repeated flatly.

"If we get at least the smallest amount of evidence on video, that'll _make_ this project." His face was ablaze with emotion. Scully took another breath before replying.

"Okay, Mulder. Let's say we do that. We get the proof and we put it in the project…what does that have to do with the government?" she asked, bringing the actual prompt of the assignment back to his attention.

"What does that have to do with -?!" he stuttered with disbelief. "Scully, it has _everything_ to with the government! The government has been denying existence of aliens since before Roswell."

Scully slid the rubric for the project closer and read over it carefully. Mulder quieted down and watched her with an anxious expression.

The rubric said they could focus on any part of government history. It even said scandals and cover ups were acceptable. Scully couldn't deny that. She looked back up at him before nodding.

"Okay." She said.

"O-okay?" he asked.

"Okay." She repeated. "We'll do the alien thing."

"You're serious!?" he asked her, disbelief all over his face.

"Yes, but look here." She pointed at the rubric. "Everything in this project must be fact, with evidence to support it." She read off. "That means that if we don't find anything, then that's what we have to put in the project.

"We will find something." He nodded. "I'm sure of it."

"So, what's first, mister alien expert?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm hardly an expert." He started. "But first we look for clues. I suggest we go out to the cliffs this weekend and watch the pastures from there. We'll be able to see the sky and ground for miles."

"The cliffs?" Scully asked, shaking her head. "But that's like a three mile hike."

"What's the matter Scully?" he grinned. "I thought you liked walking."


	4. Even Flow

"Mulder, this is stupid…no offense." Scully sounded annoyed as they trekked through the woodsy trail that led up to the cliffs.

"None taken." He responded flatly. The sunlight spattered onto the ground through the canopy of trees above. Mulder shined his flashlight into the dark spots of the trail to check for snakes.

"I just mean, wont we be too high up to see anything in the fields?" Scully clarified. "We're pretty far away."

"What are you talking about, we'll have a perfect view of the sky." He assured her. "Where else are the aliens gonna come from?"

She was quiet as they approached the cliffs. The trees became sparse and they opened into a large expanse of dirt. Just ahead was the cliff drop off that over looked half the town. From this high up they were several yards above the building tops below. They could also see cows in the pasture in the distance. They looked almost like ants.

"You know, I haven't been here since I was a kid." Scully peered over the edge.

"Danger. Cliff." Mulder said as he pointed to a sign sticking out of the ground that bore the same words.

"Don't worry, I trust you to catch me if I fall off." She sat down on the ground, her legs hanging over the edge.

Mulder sat next to her and reached into his back pack. He pulled out the video camera he'd borrowed and sat it in his lap.

"What's that for?" Scully asked.

"In case we see something." He explained. "We can put it in the video."

"See something like what? You honestly think we'll see cow getting abducted into a flying saucer?"

"Oh, you don't think we'll see anything?" he asked in surprise. "Then why'd you agree to come out all this way?"

"I never said we wouldn't see anything." She waved away a few mosquitos. "I just expect we'll find something more plausible."

"Yea, well…whatever is it. We'll get it on tape." He wasn't going to let her skepticism get him down. He'd dealt with non-believers plenty of times before. He wasn't surprised to find she was apprehensive, but at least she wasn't calling him crazy.

"So, we just sit and wait?" she leaned forward slightly, shielding her eyes from the sun with one hand.

"Going alien hunting sounds more exciting in theory, I suppose."

"It's a great view, at least." She drew her knees up and rested her chin on them.

The sun was creeping towards the horizon. It bathed the sky in a soft pink glow. A few stars were starting to show as well.

"It really is beautiful." Scully was gazing up the sky.

"It really is…" it was hard for him to take his eyes off of her. The soft light of the sunset cast a seemingly angelic glow on her. Sure, he'd always thought she was pretty – he wasn't blind. He just figured they'd finish high school never really crossing paths. Little did he know they literally would, as the streets they lived on intersected.

"What is it?" she'd caught him staring. She was looking at him now with confusion.

"Nothing." He said quickly turning his attention back to the sky. "You know, I get a view like this on the roof at home. My window opens out onto the roof and I go out there a lot."

"I wish I had somewhere like that. Sometimes my brothers drive me crazy. I wish I had a place to go and be alone." She laughed. "Siblings can be annoying."

"I uh, don't really know anything about that." He lied. No one likes to remember the bad times with a person who is no longer with you, but it was harder for Mulder because the last thing he ever did with Samantha was argue with her.

"Well, don't get me wrong," she backtracked. "Sometimes your brother or sister is like your best friend."

"Yea, I can imagine." He sighed with a smile. He remembered the way he and Samantha got along for the most part. She even told him once that he was her favorite person in the world. That was only a few weeks before she disappeared."

Now he caught her staring. She was looking at him with worry in her eyes.

"What?" he asked, realizing he'd probably looked like his mind was far off for a minute there.

"Do you…" she started. "I mean, were you thinking about your sister?"

"How do you know about my sister?" his heartrate seemed to double, but he tried not to let his face show it.

"My mother mentioned something." Scully looked back out to the sky again. "She said she used to be friends with your mother…"

"Yea, well…I don't really wanna talk about it." Mulder put the video camera back in his back pack before leaning back onto the ground, his hands behind his head like a pillow.

"It's not like it was your fault, Mulder." She assured him. "I mean, there's nothing you could have done."

"Well I'm doing something now." He sat up again, grass and dirt clinging to the back of his shirt. "I'm never going to stop looking. Not until I find the truth."

"Even if I don't believe, I still think that's very admirable." She told him. "Not a lot of people have that level of determination."

"Not a lot of people have something like this to be determined about." He shrugged.

They fell into silence for a while, though it wasn't uncomfortable. It was actually quite the opposite. Mulder looked once more out onto the town below. The sky was practically dark now, but the light from the city helped him spot the cows out in the field. They seemed fine. Whatever they were looking for hadn't struck yet. What if it didn't come tonight? They would have come all this way and waited all this time for nothing."

He was brought out of his thoughts when Scully yawned. He checked his watch. It was 7:17, over three hours since they'd started their walk into the woods.

"Are you tired?" he asked her. "Should we start back?"

"No, I'm fine." She assured him. She rested her chin on her knees again and closed her eyes. He was starting to feel bad about dragging her out here for nothing.

"Scully…" He leaned closer to her. "If you fall asleep you'll miss the aliens."

"I'm not asleep." She said, holding back a laugh.

"Then why are your eyes closed?"

"They're not…"

"Then how many fingers am I holding up?" he made no move to lift a hand, but instead just leaned closer to her.

"Four..." she laughed lightly, still not opening her eyes.

"Good guess." He smiled. "Why don't you see if you're right?"

When she opened her eyes and saw that he wasn't holing up any fingers but was instead just leaned in closer towards her, she smiled.

"I think I've been deceived."

"Sorry…" he replied.

It wouldn't be wise for him to try and kiss her. They were partners on this project, and they didn't even have anything yet. If things got messed up and they couldn't work together anymore – well, he'd take it as more than just a loss on a grade. Besides, then he'd have to walk to school by himself every day, not to mention that he still had her umbrella somewhere at his house.

That being said, just because it wouldn't be wise for him to try and kiss her, didn't mean he wasn't going to try. Scully was still looking at him with a half-smile on her face. Mulder was just thinking that perhaps it wasn't such an unwise decision after all. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He was starting to think that the entire earth was shaking, not just him.

Suddenly, he was sure that it was. He reluctantly leaned away from Scully just as the earth tremored once more.

"What the heck was that?" Scully turned around and looked back towards the woods.

"Whatever it is, it's huge." Mulder picked up his back pack and took out the camera and flash light. He turned the flash light on and passed it to Scully. He then started jogging towards the trees.

"Hey, wait." Scully followed him. "Be careful, we don't what we're dealing with."

The ground tremored again. Trees shook to their root, he could their tops shaking against the skyline. His heart was pounding loudly. His eyes scanned the dark trees for a sign of the source.

A blinding light suddenly light the darkness up like lightning. Mulder squeezed his eyes shut before carefully glancing ahead. He could see the light coming from a clearing ahead. He immediately took off running towards it.

"Mulder! Mulder, come back!" Scully's voice was drowned out by the pounding in his ears and the sound of falling branches as the earth shook once more.

The light was flashing now, but its momentary presence gave him the guidance he needed to head in the right direction. His body seemed to move on its own. He was dodging stumps and leaping over falling branches. As he got closer to the clearing, wind began to blow. It got stronger as the trees thinned out. It was cold, blowing his hair back and making his clothes snap. In the next flash of light, he glanced down for a split second to turn on the camera.

The small red light on the camera indicated that it was recording just as Mulder tripped. His foot got caught on a root. He gasped as he pitched forward into the dirt. The camera dropped to the ground and rolled ahead into the clearing. Mulder crawled towards it just as the blinding light reappeared.

The silhouette of a large –something was in the middle of the clearing. The wind picked up again, stronger than ever as whatever it was began to take off. Leaves and pine straw blew back in all directions, and Mulder stared ahead, transfixed, despite the lights. The lights blinked off as the ship began to whir loudly.

Mulder looked wilding around for the camera. He spotted it about a foot away. He picked it up and aimed it forward just as the earth shook again. The roots of a nearby tree shook loose, and Mulder rolled out of the way as the tree crashed to the ground, blocking his path into the clearing.

In the final flash of light, Mulder shielded his eyes as it lasted only seconds. When it faded and he opened his eyes again, he heard and saw nothing. He stood up and climbed over the fallen tree. The clearing was empty. The moon was the only source of light, and it told him whatever it was, it was gone now. The forest was dead silent, but only for a second, as Mulder began to laugh so hard he was sure he'd start crying.

"I knew it! I knew they'd be here!" he shouted. He turned the camera off and put it in his back pack. "Dammit, Scully's gonna be so mad she missed it."

He heart seemed to plummet as he realized that Scully should have caught up to him by now. He turned around and stared through the trees at the way he'd came. He could see nothing, and the only wind now was soft against his face.

"Scully?" he called into the darkness. The only reply was the sound was his own heartbeat. "Scully!?" he began to panic as he took off towards the way he came. It was hard to see where he was going, and he stumbled over fallen branches and tree stumps.

"Scully!?" he called again, but there was no sign of her. "Scully, where are you!?" He was starting to go hoarse from calling her name, when he spotted something in the darkness. The flashlight he'd given Scully was on the ground, but it was still on. In its beam of light, he could see Scully lying on the ground a few feet away.

He ran forward and crouched over her. Her eyes were closed and he started to panic even more. He picked up the flashlight and shined it on her face.

"Scully, Scully, wake up!" he shook her shoulder roughly. He was starting to fear the worst when her eyes opened. She squinted in the light of the flashlight as she sat up.

"Mulder…what happened?" she ground. The side of her head was bleeding.

"They were here, Scully!" Mulder exclaimed as he got to his feet.

"Who?" she asked as he held out a hand to help her up.

"Aliens! They were here in the forest!" he couldn't keep the excitement from his voice.

"Here?" she asked, looking around them. "Or…here?" she reached up and lightly touched the side of his head.

"I'm not crazy." He said sternly, realizing what she meant. "I saw a spaceship. I even got it on video."

"Y-you did?" she seemed surprised.

"Well, I sort of dropped the camera…" she rolled her eyes at this. "But I had to have gotten something on there!" he reassured her. "I mean, you saw all those lights…"

"Actually Mulder, I didn't." she sounded sharp. "After you left me in the dust, I tried to keep up but I tripped and hit my head on the ground."

He felt horrible. He'd gotten so into finding what they'd came out here for, that'd completely left her behind. He couldn't believe that'd happened. How could he have forgotten about her, when just seconds before it happened, he'd been thinking about…

"I'm sorry." He told her. "Really, I shouldn't have left you behind."

"It's not really your fault." She said with a shrug.

"You're bleeding." He said, shining the flashlight onto her face again.

"Don't worry about it." She said. "It's not that bad. Come on, we should start back now."

She was quiet as they walked down the trail that led out of the woods. Mulder kept the flashlight pointed at the ground to check for snakes, just as he had on the walk up there. Scully didn't say a word, even after they emerged from the woods into the park where the trail began.

As they passed under a lamppost in the park, Mulder turned off the flashlight and looked at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm fine." She said quickly. They exited the park and started walking down the street.

"I really am sorry about leaving you behind." He told her again.

"It's not that." Scully stopped and looked at him. There was worry in her eyes. "What if something happened to you?"

"Happened to me?" he asked. "What makes you say that?"

"You saw what happened to those cows! What if it did the same thing to you?!" she turned and started walking down the street again.

"I…I never even thought about that." He said truthfully, taking a second to keep up with her.

"Well, you should have…" she didn't look at him again, her eyes trained on the ground.

They parted ways at the street corner as usual, and Mulder trekked home with a heavy heart. Only when he approached his house did he realize he'd get to watch the footage he recorded. He carefully crept inside and silently went upstairs.

He took the tape out of the camera and shoved it into the small tv in his room. He remembered to turn the volume to mute before pressing play.

The footage was the shaky images of trees for a minute before the part where he'd obviously dropped the camera. The camera had a full view of the bright flashes of lights, but the only shapes where that of leaves being blown around. After a few minutes of that, the lights stopped and the tape cut to static.

"That's it?" he asked incredulously. "Dammit, what a whole lot of nothing!" he sighed angrily as he ejected the tape and laid it on his desk.

He laid down on his bed and sighed again. He couldn't believe he didn't have any real footage. All of that for nothing!

" _Well,"_ he thought to himself. _"it wasn't really for nothing. I may not have gotten footage, but I know what I saw! That was an alien ship!"_

He'd never had doubts before about what he'd seen the night his sister disappeared, and this only strengthened that notion. Now he knew he was right to never stop looking, not until he found the truth.


	5. Scar Tissue

Scully sat in the living room on Sunday morning. She wondered if Mulder had watched the tape yet, and what exactly was on it. Hopefully he had something, and they hadn't been out there all that time for nothing.

Her mother walked in the living room and sighed.

"Dana, I can't believe you went out into the woods last night. You know how dangerous that cliff is."

"Oh please, Mom." Scully's sister spoke up from where she sat in front if the tv. "Everybody used to play out in those woods, and it's not like anyone ever fell off the cliff."

"Melissa, look at Dana." Their mother sighed. "She's all scratched up. I don't see how you could act like it's no big deal."

"It's not, Mom." Scully said. "I just fell down."

There was a knock on the door, and Scully was glad to get away from her mother to answer it. She opened the door and Ellen look at her.

"What happened to your face?" Ellen asked as she stepped into the apartment.

"Nothing." Scully answered quickly. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember? You said we could study for the French test today." Ellen answered.

"Oh, right." Scully led Ellen into the living room, luckily her mother was gone.

"Melissa, get out." Scully said to her sister as she and Ellen set up their books on the coffee table.

"No, mom said I could watch this." Melissa said.

"Fine, just don't bother us." Scully replied.

She and Ellen looked over the past weeks homework, and occasionally quizzing each other on vocabulary. After a while, the phone rang.

"Can you get that?" Scully asked Melissa. "It's probably for you, anyways."

Melissa went to the phone and after a second, spoke up.  
"Dana, it's for you."

"Who is it?" Scully didn't want to take it if it was Jack, or someone. She usually found it was hard to get out of the zone when she was studying.

"It's that Mulder guy." Melissa said.

Ellen gave Scully a look, but she ignored it as she ran to the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey. It's me." Mulder replied. "Do you want to go to Seattle?"

"Seattle?" Scully asked in surprise. "What's in Seattle?"

"These guys I know…from the internet. If anyone will know anything more about this case, it's them. They follow this stuff religiously."

"Wait, did you watch that tape?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah…not a lot on there. Absolute bullshit, actually." He sighed. "So, Seattle? We can ride the bus."

"The bus? Sounds fancy." She couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, it beats walking!" he laughed. "And we can eat at this place I like…my treat."

"Hold on." Now she really couldn't stop smiling. "When are we going?"

"Next weekend." He said. "Okay, I gotta go."

"Are you studying for that French test too?" she asked him.

"Oh shit. I forgot about that. Now I really have to go."

They hung up and Scully went back to the table with Ellen. She tried to ignore the look Ellen was giving her.

"Dana, next time your boyfriend calls, answer it yourself." Melissa said.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Scully said quickly. She tried not to think about how she was pretty sure he's been trying to kiss her last night on the cliff.

"Then why do you walk to school with him?" Melissa asked.

"Yes, why do you?" Ellen spoke up. "I mean, it's he a little…weird?"

"He is not weird!" Scully snapped. "He's really nice."

"Why are you going with him to Seattle?" Ellen asked.

"It's for that video project."

"Oh, well you're lucky you got a partner you like. I got that jerk Darren."

"I hate that guy!" Scully shook her said. "I think he's half the reason Jack is such an asshole these days."

"I agree." Ellen sighed. "Well, I have to go. Hopefully that studying helped."

Even though Scully had denied it was a date, she couldn't help but feel excited about going with him to the city. She was in a good mood. She'd gotten an A on the French test.

"So, who are these guys we're going to see?" Scully asked Mulder on Saturday as they walked to the bus station.

"They call themselves 'The Lone Gunmen.'" Mulder said. "They like that kinda stuff too."

"You mean alien stuff." Scully asked with a smile.

"Anything paranormal, really."

"So, the tape? What was really on it?" she asked.

"Like I said, nothing." He sighed. "…I'm sorry we went out there for nothing."

"It wasn't really for nothing." Scully told him. "And I'm sorry I got mad at you…"

"Nah, I shouldn't have left you behind like that." He said, looking at her. "Next time, we'll stick together."

"Next time?" she tilted her head. "Are we going back out there? Because my mom gave me hell for it. She said it's dangerous."

"Well, we need something else. Some real evidence."

"And these Lone Gunmen guys can get that?"

"Sure, I mean, they've probably been following this case since it started. This is all classic alien interference."

"Classic." Scully said sarcastically, nodding along.

"Make fun now, Scully." He smiled. "We'll see what they have to say."

The bus ride was long, but it did beat walking. Mulder let her have the aisle seat, for which she was grateful.

" _This is not a date."_ She told herself. _"This is just two friends uncovering some aliens."_

It was so easy for them to fall into conversation, that Scully was surprised that the ride seemed to go by quickly. The air was misty when the stepped out of the bus station in Seattle.

"Look what I remembered." Mulder smiled as he opened her umbrella up and held it above their heads.

"I was wondering if I'd ever see that again." She smiled.

"I knew I still had it somewhere." He replied.

Mulder had the address written down, and it didn't take long for them to arrive at the apartment. Mulder knocked and a strange looking guy, no older than them answered.

"Ah, come in." he whisked them inside. The apartment was small, but the walls were adorned in clippings from newspapers. "Mulder's here." He called to two others.

"Long time no see." Another young man spoke up. He was sitting at a computer in the living room.

"I know, I know." Said Mulder. "So, you got what I was emailing you about."

"Not so quick into business." A third young man spoke up. He approached Scully with a fixated gaze. "Who's this?"

"That's just Scully." Mulder said.

"Ah, you're partner on this investigation?" the man asked.

"Pleased to meet you." Scully offered her hand, and he shook it vigorously.

"Mulder didn't tell us you were so…hot." When he dropped her hand she subtly tried to wipe it on her jeans, an action that was not lost on Mulder, who laughed when he noticed.

"So, got anything new, Ringo?" he asked the first man.

"Have I ever." He replied. He spread out several pictures across the table. Some were of cows, like on the news. But there were a few of deer as well. "It's been deer, cows, and even a dog." Ringo said.

"And you're sure it's the same thing doing it?" Mulder asked.

"Oh yes." He shuffled the pictures to show them one of the dog. Its fur near its back was gone, exposing a mark on the skin.

"That's same mark you drew in my notebook!" Scully said.

"Precisely." Ringo exclaimed. "All the same."

"What's the most recent sighting of anything?" Mulder shuffled through some of the pictures.

"This cow, last Saturday." Ringo showed them a picture.

"Last Saturday…Mulder that's when we were at the cliffs!" Scully told him.

"I knew it!" Mulder slammed his fist into his palm. "The aliens I saw in the woods are doing this!"

"Back up, Mulder." Scully sighed. "We don't know that. Correlation doesn't always equal causation."

"She's right." The young man with eyes for Scully spoke up. "That's why they stopped reporting on this. They're out of leads as well."

"If they aren't reporting, how have you guys been getting so much information?" Mulder asked him.

"Funny you should ask." He smirked. "The thinker."

"Who?"

"The thinker. He's some guy who just starting corresponding with us, via email. He's been following the case in Granite Falls since it started."

"He's from Granite Falls?" Mulder asked. "Who is he?"

"We don't know who he is." The guy at the computer spoke up. "But he'll talk to you if you email him. It's be easier than going through us."

"Alright, give me the email address." Mulder grabbed a piece of paper and pen from the table.

"Maybe we can make an exchange?" the young man with eyes for Scully said. "One bit of contact information, for another?" he glanced at her.

"Frohike, do I have to kick your ass?" Mulder snapped.

"Alright, Alright." He said quickly. He grabbed the pen from Mulder and write down the email address.

"One more thing." Ringo said. "At any point last Saturday, where you two separated? Even for a second?"

"Yea…" Mulder said. "Why?"

"Well, it's just, you're lucky you weren't a target yourself. We don't know if these aliens are after humans. And you said you were close enough to see them?"

"He didn't see aliens." Scully said quickly.

"But I saw a spaceship." Mulder replied. "And I know I shouldn't have gotten that close…"

"Right." Ringo said. "These things aren't afraid to kill, you saw the pictures. You have to keep an eye on each other."

"We will." Mulder nodded.

"Can you believe that?" Scully asked Mulder as they sat in the restaurant after leaving. "Some of that stuff they said was ridiculous."

"I don't know," Mulder shrugged. "It's not so farfetched to Frohike to think that you're hot."

"Not that." Scully looked down at her menu to hide her smile. "About one of us being abducted. I mean, we'd _know_ if we were abducted by aliens, for god's sake."

"Not necessarily." He looked at her. "Not all abductees remember it. Plus, it happens instantaneously. You don't even know that time passed."

Scully shook her head. It was unsettling to think about. Mulder must have been able to tell she was slightly unnerved. He flipped his menu to the dessert section.

"Do you like ice cream?" he asked her.

"Are you kidding me?" she laughed.

That night after Scully got home, she couldn't help but think about what Mulder had said about abductees. It happens without them knowing, and she _had_ been unconscious when Mulder had found her.

Scully went into the bathroom and examined her reflection. Surely, she'd be able to tell if something was wrong? Didn't they put things inside you when you were abducted?

She examined the side of her face where she'd fell down. It was all but healed up now, just some faint scratches.

Only when she pulled off her shirt to examine her back did she gasp. With careful craning, she could feel three small marks on her lower back.

"Oh my god!" she gasped.

Her heart and mind where racing as she put her shirt back on and ran out.

"What is it?" Melissa asked as Scully burst into their room to grab her shoes.

"Nothing. I'll be right back." Scully ran out of the room and grabbed her brother's keys from the hook by the door before leaving the apartment.

She tried to keep her mind steady as she drove the short distance to Mulder's house. As she parked across the street, she was struck with how silly she was being. Mulder's parents were probably asleep, and there was no point in waking them. Plus, what she even ask him?

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She stepped out of the truck and glanced nervously at his house. She knew Mulder's window was on the second floor, and she was relieved to see the light was on through the curtains.

" _What am I doing?"_ she asked herself, but that didn't stop her from approaching his house quietly. There was a trash can just beside the house. Scully thanked her years of cheerleading as she boosted herself onto the roofing below his window.

"Mulder." She tapped softly on his window.

"Scully?" Mulder pushed the curtains aside and opened the window. "What are you doing here? It's almost midnight."

"Please, you have to look at something." She tried to keep desperation out of her voice, but it was hard.

He must have sensed it, because he immediately back up, letting her climb in.

His room smelled like stale cigarettes, and there was a UFO poster on his wall. Any other time, she would have found it amusing.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

It hadn't occurred to her what she was going to do, or how awkward this might be. She shook the thoughts out of her head that this was anything to feel awkward about. If this was serious…if something was wrong with her, she needed to know.

"Look at this…" she turned her back to him and carefully lifted her shirt to just above the spots on her back. "What is that?!" it was hard to keep her voice down.

He was silent. Her skin tingled as she felt his fingers trace over the spot on her back. Finally, she heard his laugh softly.

"Mosquito bites." He said.

"W-what? Are you sure?" she asked, dropping her shirt and turning to face him.

"Positive." He laughed.

"Oh…thank god." She couldn't help but laugh as well. She felt like a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. She leaned into him, relief still washing over her.

"Damn, you were really freaked out." Mulder laughed. "Did you really think you'd been abducted?"

"I don't know." She laughed, burying her face in his shoulder. He put his arm around her.

"I think I have too much of an influence on you." He said.

"I'm sorry." She stepped back from him after a moment. "I bothered you for nothing."

"Not for nothing." He assured her. "Now, I hate to shove you out the window, but my parents…"

"Right, I get it." She nodded.

Scully climbed out the window, and he closed the curtains behind her. She remembered what he said about having a great view, and was distracted for a few moments by looking at the stars. She jumped when she heard a noise behind her.

She turned and looked back in his window. Through the gap in the curtains, she could see a man standing in Mulder's room – presumable his father.

He seemed angry. Scully gasped as she saw him roughly grab his son's arm. Mulder shielded his face with his free hand, but that didn't stop his father from swinging.

Scully was shaking as she turned away from the window and leapt down from the roof. She landed on her hands and knees and broke out into a run towards the truck across the street.

She refused to break down on the drive home. She tossed her brother's keys down on the kitchen table before going to her room. Melissa was asleep, so Scully tried to climb into bed as quietly as possible. As she laid in bed, the blanket over her head, she began to cry.

She felt stupid for crying – this wasn't her situation to cry over. This was something Mulder was dealing with, but somehow, that made her feel even worse. She knew she shouldn't make assumptions about what she saw, but it wasn't hard for her mind to go to that dark place. She cried until no more tears would come.


	6. Basket Case

For the next few weeks, Scully waiting at the street corner every morning for Mulder. And every morning he didn't show up, causing Scully to have to run to class, still arriving late. After a few says, Mr. Barren stopped chiding her. He just handed her the warm ups and gestured for her to sit down.

It was hard to concentrate in class. Scully found herself glancing at Mulder's empty seat throughout class.

Finally, the bell rang, and Scully was getting ready to go to her next class.

"Dana, can I talk to you?" Mr. Barren asked.

"Yes Sir." Scully walked up to his desk as everyone filed out of the room behind her.

"Do you know where Fox is?" he asked.

"No sir." Scully said truthfully.

"Well, if you have the time, could you give him this?" Mr. Barren reached into his desk and pulled out a manila folder. "It's the classwork he's been missing as well as some graded assignments. I gathered it from his other teachers."

Scully blinked in surprise. Her classmates were always going on and on about how mean and strict Mr. Barren was, yet here he was going out of his way to get this make up work for Mulder, something usually left up to the responsibility of the student.

"Okay, thank you sir." Scully took the folder and put it in her backpack.

"And…can I ask how your project is coming along?" Mr. Barren leaned back in his desk chair. "It sounds like you're the only ones who've gotten started."

"Oh, well it's a lot to get done you know." She shrugged.

"I'd say so." He nodded. "So, may I ask…what subject did you pick?"

"Uh…" Scully laughed nervously. "It's sort of about government cover ups…that sort of thing." There's no way she could seriously tell their teacher that their project was about aliens, at least, not until they had more to tell. She briefly wondered if they'd ever actually get any evidence at all, but quickly pushed the thought aside – she couldn't give up her trust in Mulder.

"Cover ups?" he tilted his head. "That out to be interesting."

"I'm hoping so." She nodded. "And uh, I'll give that stuff to Mulder."

Lunch was particularly lonely. Scully had gotten so used to sitting with Mulder, that she'd feel awkward about going back to sit with Ellen and the other cheerleaders. Ellen came to her table briefly to remind her of cheer practice that afternoon.

Scully spent the rest of the day by herself. It seemed that most of her old friends were already settled into their respective cliques for the year. She was briefly reminded of what Mulder had said to her about feeling alone.

After school, Scully made up her mind to go to Mulder's house. She needed to see him and make sure he was okay. She tried not to think of what she'd seen the last time she'd been at his house, but it was hard to forget something like that.

The ground was coated with dead leaves as she walked down the street. As she got closer to his house, she began to wonder what she'd say when she got there. There's no way she'd be able to knock on the door if it meant talking to his parents.

It was weird for Scully to feel this way, usually she didn't mind talking to adults. They seemed to love her as well. They thought of her as polite, smart, and a good influence – at least, that's what Ellen's parents had always said about her. She didn't know what she'd say if she had to talk to his mother, or god forbid, his father.

As she approached his house, she was relieved to see there were no cars parked outside. At least she wouldn't have to talk to anyone. For some reason, she still felt nervous as she stepped onto the front stoop and rang the doorbell.

She rocked back and forth on her heels for a minute, but no one came. She rang it again, yet still, no one came. Scully stepped back from the door and walked around the side of the house.

Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looked up towards Mulder's window. The light was on inside. Scully looked around and spotted the trashcan against the house. She dragged it beneath the window and climbed onto the roof just below, just as she had done a few weeks ago.

The window was slightly ajar, and the curtains were closed. Scully could hear loud music coming from inside. She wrapped her knuckles on the glass.

"Mulder, are you there?" she called.

Her knees were beginning to ache from kneeling onto the roof shingles. After a minute, the music stopped. Mulder parted the curtains and slid the window farther open.

"Hey Scully, ever heard of the front door?" he asked, a good-natured smile on his face.

"I don't know, ever heard of coming to school?" she had meant to snap at him – after all, he hadn't seen her in weeks, and he greeted her as if nothing was different. However, it came out just as playful, with a smile tacked on at the end.

He stepped back from the window and she climbed inside. The lights were dim and the smell of cigarettes was stronger now than it had been a few weeks ago. "And for your information, I rang the doorbell."

"Sorry, I didn't hear you." He flipped on the light switch. In the sudden brightness, she could see the faintness of a bruise on his right temple.

"Where have you been?" she asked, glancing down to keep her thoughts from going back to what she had seen the last time she was here.

"Around." He shrugged, going to sit on the bed. He laid back against the pillows.

"Around?" she shook her head as she sat on the foot of the bed. "What about school?"

"It's no big deal." He assured her. "Sometimes I just don't feel like going."

"But I've waited for you every day." Too late Scully realized that he had probably been staying out until his bruise was healed. It was the best way to avoid people asking questions.

"I didn't know that." He replied quietly, rolling to face away from her. "I'm sorry."

"It's not that big of a deal." She said quickly. She'd hate for him to feel bad about this if he was just doing it to avoid coming to school bruised up. "I brought you something."

He sat up again as she pulled the folder out of her book bag. She handed it to him and he flipped through it.

"School work?" he sounded disappointed as he looked over at her.

"I know, but at least you'll be able to catch up on what you missed. Mr. Barren went through a lot of trouble to get that together for you."

"What? Why would he do that?" Mulder shook his head slightly. "I thought he hated me. I thought he hated everyone, actually."

"I thought that too." Scully tucked her hair behind her ear. "But I guess you don't become a teacher without somewhat liking kids."

"I guess I'll get to some of that stuff later." He closed the folder and tossed it onto the bed. "Do you wanna see something cool?" he asked with a grin.

"Okay, sure." She nodded.

He beckoned for her to follow him. They left his room before going down the hallway to another room. Mulder reached up and grabbed a key from along the top if the doorframe and unlocked it. It was small, a computer desk sat in the middle. He sat down and typed for a moment before pulling up a scanned photo.

"Take a look at that." He said.

"What is it?" Scully asked. The pictured showed what looked like a strange marking in a field. "Like a crop circle?"

"Sort of. It's from where an actual spaceship landed in here 1973."

"Here?"

"Well not actually right here." He shrugged. "But here in Washington, outside of Spokane."

"It looks like a burn mark." Scully looked closer at the screen. "Where did you find it? The internet?"

"The Thinker sent it to me." He leaned back in the chair.

"You've been talking to that guy?" Scully asked.

"Yea, since I got his email address." Mulder nodded. "He's sent me tons of stuff about this case. Head counts on animal deaths and more than a hundred reports of people seeing flashing lights and something in the sky. This all goes farther back than the sixties."

"But you don't know who he really is?" she asked.

He shook his head. "All I know is that he lives around here. He could be anyone."

Scully examined the screen closer. "It looks kinda like it's burned into the ground."

"Yeah, and that got me thinking; what if there's one of these in the woods."

"What?"

"From when we saw all those flashing lights a few months ago." He explained.

"From when _you_ saw all those flashing lights." She corrected him.

"Yeah, well it's got to still be there in the clearing." He exclaimed.

"Mulder, someone would have reported a giant burn mark in such a strange shape."

"Not if no one's seen it yet. Scully, who else goes that far into the woods? No one, especially not in camping season. If there is one, then it should still be there."

"What, you want us to go look for it right now?" the thought of going back into the woods made Scully feel uneasy.

"Well not now." He checked his watch. "It's half past four, it'll be dark by the time we get out there."

"Oh my god." Scully gasped. "I completely forgot I'm supposed to be at cheer practice! Sorry, I have to go…"

Scully went back to Mulder's room and grabbed her book bag.

"Hey wait, I wanna come with you." He called after her. He locked the office door before coming in and grabbing the folder on the bed. "I can work on this stuff and turn it in if some of the teachers are still there."

"Alright." She stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder. "But we have to hurry, I'm supposed to be on the top of the pyramid, which is the most important part."

"Isn't the most important part of the pyramid on the bottom?" he quipped.

"Oh…" she laughed.

It was nice to have him around again, she thought as they walked back to school. In the daylight, she could see the bruise on his temple more clearly. The thought of how it got there played again in her mind. She really wished there was something she could do.

"Hey…" she started.

"What?" If she kept him out of the house for a while, it could at least lessen the chances of running into his father's bad side.

"We should do something tomorrow…and on Sunday." She hoped she didn't sound too obvious.

"Okay." She was relieved when he sounded excited. "We can go to the movies or something tomorrow."

"Sounds good." Scully nodded.

"And then on Sunday we can look for that spaceship landing site in the woods." He sounded just as excited about that.

"Okay." Scully agreed with a laugh.


	7. November Rain

"Are you scared?" Mulder whispered to Scully in the darkness of the movie theater. She shook her head in response, her gaze still fixed on the screen. It was a few days after halloween, meaning that hardly anyone was here seeing a scary movie. They were alone apart from a few people in the rows behind them.

"These effects aren't very good." she giggled, taking some popcorn from the bucket on her lap.

"Well, if you were scared, I'd protect you." he whispered back.

"Maybe I am a little." her eyes break away from the screen for a moment to find his.

"Don't worry, it's just a movie." his arm drops from the back of her sit to around her shoulders. They stay like that until the movie ends.

"If you think that was good, we oughta watch Plan Nine." he tells her as they walk out of the theater.

"Isn't that movie supposed to be really bad?"

"That's why it's so good!" he exclaimed. "It's the worst movie ever made!"

"Why would I want to watch that, Mulder?"

"Because it's awesome!" he was getting worked up, something she found slightly adorable. He turned to face her and began walking backwards. "We're not talking plans one through eight. This is plan nine! We're not talking plans one through eight! This is the one that made it! It's just so -oh, excuse me."

In his haste to explain the movie, he'd bumped right into someone standing outside the theater. The man was leaned against the building, smoking a cigarette.

"Good evening, kids." Scully recognized the voice of their teacher.

"Mr. Barren, what are you doing here?" Mulder asked, turning back around.

"Seeing a film. Teachers do have a life outside of school, you know." their teacher mused.

"Uh, right." Mulder rocked back and forth awkwardly. "Well, I can recommend the movie we just saw. Though, the special effects were pretty shitty."

"Mulder!" Scully hissed.

"What, it's not like we're at school!"

"So, I take it that you kids are here doing research?" Mr. Barren smirked as he took a drag of his cigarette.

"Research? Oh, you mean for the project!" Mulder laughed. "We are. The best way to learn how to make a video is watch movies, right?"

To their surprise, he actually laughed. "Well, see you kids around. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He stubbed out his cigarette before going inside the theater.

"Why did you tell him that? About us doing research?" Scully asked him as they walked towards the parking lot. "You know he was just teasing us."

"I know."

As they made their way to the parking lot, it wasn't hard to spot which car was his. He'd been bragging all day about his uncle giving it to him, but honestly, Scully didn't think there was much to brag about. The inside was full of trash, as if his uncle had never clean it out, and a bumper sticker on the back told everyone that he "breaks for bigfoot." Scully had a feeling his uncle wasn't responsible for the sticker.

"So tomorrow…" Mulder grinned.

"Right." Scully had almost forgotten about going into the woods tomorrow. "I don't know, Mulder. My parents said that the woods is really dangerous."

"I laugh in the face of danger." He then let out a fake laughter, taking his hands off the wheel and his eyes off the road.

"Don't do that!" she gasped as they veered slightly.

"Relax, Scully." He shook his head, taking the wheel once more. "Besides, I was just gonna say that we can't go tomorrow anyways."

"Why not?" had he finally come to his senses and realized that there were no aliens in the forest?

"It's gonna rain tomorrow." He sighed. "We'll have to postpone."

"Oh." She tried to look disappointed.

"So, I was thinking we could do something else tomorrow."

"Okay." Scully recalled that the house would be empty tomorrow –everyone would be at Melissa's orientation for the community college she would be enrolling in after Christmas.

"Plan nine?" he asked.

"What?" she blinked, having been momentarily imagining being alone with him tomorrow.

"We can watch plan nine." He looked at her somewhat nervously out of the corner of his eye

If that movie was as bad as he said it was, then it wasn't exactly a sexy scenario. But maybe that's what he wanted. Then again, he was so hard to figure out.

"Yesterday…after cheer practice…I went to my locker…" she started, testing the waters.

"And someone wrote Mrs. Spooky on it? Yeah, I saw." His voice was quiet. "Does that upset you?"

"No. Does it upset you?"

"No."

"Good. I mean, I wouldn't want it to…" she curled up in the seat, wrapping her arms around her knees. "So, what's Plan nine really about?"

"It's good, right?" Mulder asked.

"It was…okay…" Scully lied.

Truthfully, it was one of the worst things ever –and not just on tv. She couldn't understand how he'd seen it more than once, let alone forty-something times. It wasn't even funny bad, or, not in her opinion.

"You didn't like it?"

She looked at him from where they both sat on her couch. If her parents knew she was laying with her feet all over the couch (with a boy!) they'd honestly have a cow. That wasn't the only reason she was glad no one else was home.

"It was bad. Just bad. But I can see why you like it." She placed her hand on his.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I have bad taste?" he leaned against the back of the couch, his face towards her.

"Well, you took me out to the city just so we could talk to some of your geeky friends." She copied his position, their faces only a few inches apart.

"Yea, but then we went out to eat. It wasn't a total loss. I'd say it was a fun date." He quickly looked away. "N-not a date…I just meant—"

"I know…" she blushed.

So he did think of it as a date. How the hell were they supposed to be friends for another five months to get this project done?

Mulder sat up and glanced out the window. "Hey, it's stopped raining." Scully feared he'd suggest they go into the woods now, though her stomach dropped once he spoke again. "I guess I should go…"

"You're leaving?" she asked, sitting up.

"Do you want me to stay, Scully?" he asked, grinning at her.

"Do you want me to want you to stay?" She shot back, refusing to let his boyish charms affect her aloof demeanor

"Do you?" He sat back down.

"What? Listen," she shook her head. She couldn't go on like this. Working together, hanging out…it was so hard to ignore her crush on him. She had to at least know how he felt. "I need to tell you something."

"Is it about the project?"

"No…" she couldn't look him in the eye so she just stared straight ahead at his chest –not a good idea. "What is this to you?"

"I don't know." He sighed, glancing away again. "I mean, I don't really have friends…I don't know…

"Mulder." Scully's voice was short.

"I like you…a lot." He looked at her again. "I just didn't want anything to mess up the project."

"The project?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, you know how Mr. Barren is. This project is a really big deal." He shifted in his seat on the couch. She could tell this was about more than the project. It was some deep rooted fear of rejection.

"Okay…I'll tell you what," she said evenly, placing her hand on his once more. "How about we make a pact? No matter what happens…we will get this project done, and we'll get an A."

"An A? Don't you think that's shooting a little high?" he grinned again.

"Fine, a B. Deal?"

"Deal." He lifted both his hands to either side of her face and kissed her.


	8. Semi Charmed Life

"Just a sec!" Scully called to whoever was knocking at the door this early in the morning on a school day. She quickly jotted one last thing on her notes before getting up from the kitchen table.

She couldn't believe she'd almost forgotten about their reports that were due today. They were supposed to summarize everything they'd done for their video projects so far. It was kinda hard to make it sound like they'd done a lot, and Scully vowed that they should really get back to work soon.

She ran to the door and stood on her toes to look through the peephole. She sighed with amusement when she saw Mulder nonchalantly leaning against the wall out in the hall.

"Hey." She said, opening the door. "I thought you were gonna pick me up outside." She bit her lip to hide a smile as a blush crept up on her cheeks. She couldn't even look at him without remembering how he'd kissed her yesterday.

"Hey little lady…what do you say we take a cruise in my sweet ride." He grinned.

"Are you doing…a fake voice?" she suppressed a laugh.

"Not anymore." He said normally. "Well, come on. Let's go."

"Hold on, I need to get my stuff." She gathered all of her books before meeting him back at the door. "Okay, let's go."

"You forgot something." He told her.

"What?" she glanced in her bag to make her everything was accounted for. "What did I forget?"

"This." He leaned in and kissed her lightly

She eagerly kissed him back. She actually really just wanted to push him against the wall and really kiss him, but her neighbors were so nosey and too ready to complain to the building manager.

"Okay, now let's go." She said cheerfully, pulling back and practically skipping down the hall. Mulder just stood there, momentarily dazed before following her.

"I've looked over the reports you handed in this morning." Mr. Barren addressed the class. "And it has come to my attention that some of you were complaining that your partners haven't been pulling their weight."

Scully glanced around the room and noticed most everyone else was doing the same. That jerk Darren had his head down, and his partner Ellen was glaring at him.

"So, fill out these sheets and turn them into me at the end of class." He passed it out and Scully looked at the first question.

 _Have you met at least twice outside of class to discuss the project with your partner?_

 _Yes._ She wrote.

 _Would you say that you and your partner are contributing evenly?_

 _Yes._

 _Would you say your relationship with your partner has improved since working on the project?_

Scully blushed slightly before jotting down another yes.

"You're aware," their teacher began as they all stacked their forms onto his desk as they got ready to file out of the classroom. "That these are confidential. Your partner will never see what you wrote about them."

"Are you kidding me?" Mulder's voice cut through the crowd. "So I wrote all that heartfelt stuff about Scully for nothing?!"

As everyone laughed, Scully tried her best to look annoyed, but she couldn't help but smile at him anyways.

"So, that would be ten over X."

Mulder didn't pay much attention to the lecture. Every time the teacher wrote an example on the board, he was able to figure out the answer his own paper before she was finished explaining to the class.

He instead let his mind wander. Ever since he'd been spending more time out of his house, his dad had stopped ragging on him so much. That was a good thing. He thought of Scully. Was he her boyfriend now? They hadn't actually talked about it. He'd never had a girlfriend before. It felt…nice.

"Hey Fox." Someone whispered. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Molly Carsen sitting behind him.

"What?" he whispered back.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Okay…" He said, somewhat confused. Nobody really talked to him at school, let alone girls.

"Do you know anything about…cows?"

His mind flooded with the images of the abducted cows he'd seen during research.

"Why are you asking?" he was suspicious. Was she trying to make fun of him or something?

"It's just…" she averted her eyes shyly. "My dad. See…we have cows, and my dad is obsessed with thinking something is gonna happen to them."

"You mean like that thing on the news?"

"Yes. But…he thinks it's not a person. My dad…see…he's kinda weird. He thinks it might be…"

"Aliens?!" Mulder whispered somewhat loudly.

"Yes." She said bitterly. "Do you know anything about that?"

"Yep. We've definitely got aliens coming to town." He told her with a nod.

"Mr. Mulder." The teacher's voice was firm, and he quickly turned back around in his sit. "Do you have something to say?"

Mulder wasn't fazed by being scolded. His eyes scanned the board.

"That one is supposed to be three over pi." He told her.

"Impossible." She shook her head before examining the board herself. "Well, I stand corrected."

After school Mulder sat alone in the library doing research while Scully finished cheer practice. He couldn't stop thinking about what Molly said –that her dad was weird.

Could her dad be the same guy who acted as his email informant? The Thinker? Maybe. It had to be someone from around here, and this town wasn't exactly crawling with UFO enthusiasts.

He sighed as he looked through a book he'd found about Roswell. He didn't know why Scully insisted they do so much book research. They didn't need all this filler stuff if they got real UFO evidence on tape.

"Some people think they're so funny." Mulder looked up to see Scully approaching his table. She was still in her uniform, and he secretly wished she wore it all the time.

"What is it?" he asked, trying not to stare as she sat down.

"Darren called me a name just now when I was coming out of the gym."

"What kind of name?!" he felt anger rising in his chest.

"He called me Little Miss Spooky." She cracked a smile.

"What did you say back?" he wondered if that really bothered her.

"I said 'That's Mrs. Spooky to you.'" He felt immediately relieved as they both laughed.

"Okay, I'll tell her, thanks." Scully could hear her mother on the phone as she walked in the door that evening.

"Oh, Dana." Mrs. Scully hung up and turned to her. "I just got off the phone with Ellen."

"Ellen? Why?" Scully tossed her bag on the floor and sat down.

"She called to tell you that your friend Molly is in the hospital."

"What?" Scully immediately stood up again. "Why? She seemed fine today at school."

"Ellen said that her father found her passed out in the yard with their cows. They don't know what's wrong with her, both they're keeping her for a few days. She has visiting hours tomorrow."

"Okay…" Scully was still dazed. "Thanks for telling me."

"I'm sorry about your friend." Mulder told Scully over the phone that night. "I'll take you to visit her tomorrow."

"Thanks." She sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up.

Mulder hung up and looked towards his desk. The tape they'd taken in the woods was still there. He knew there wasn't much on it, but what if he took it to the hospital and showed it to Molly?

It had to be aliens. She'd been in the pasture when it happened. They said they didn't know what was wrong, but those doctor's didn't know to look for signs of abduction.

And what if her father was at the hospital with her? He'd be able to ask him face to face if he was his informant. Yes, this was all coming into place.


	9. Man in the Box

Neither of them felt bad about skipping school the next day, since Scully was sure everyone else in their class was doing the same. She remembered when Jack broke his arm last year, and how everyone skipped to visit him, even the teachers. That's what happened when the school's golden boy gets hurt, or, what was it that Mulder had called him? Mr. Cool?

"What time is it?" Mulder asked from where he sat at the foot off his bed messing with his tv.

"It's only ten." Scully sighed, hoping the clock on his bedside was accurate. At least it didn't smell like cigarettes in here anymore. "We can't go see Molly until one."

"We can watch a movie." Mulder grabbed a vhs from his desk drawer.

"Is that Plan 9 again?" Scully could _not_ sit through that again.

"No, it's something else…but uh, it's the only other movie I have." He shrugged, popping it in.

 _Party time! Excellent!  
_ After a while the movie droned on, forgotten. It was hard to concentrate on it when she could feel his hand moving across the front of her jeans and his mouth latched onto her neck.

"Um, Mulder." Scully started, trying to get a word in before things got too heated.

"Hmm?" his hands didn't stop.

"Mulder, do you have any…protection?" she whispered, blushing a bit.

"You mean like bug spray?" he asked, sitting up a bit and smirking down at her.

She didn't say anything for a moment, she just looked up at him and tried to figure out if he was joking. She had no idea how he could find the ability to joke since she could feel a certain something pressed against her thigh.

No, I know what you mean." He cut his eyes down nervously. "But, uh, no…I actually don't have any of that."

"Well, you need to get off me then." She shoved him off where he rolled over and groaned in frustration.

"What time is it?" he asked again.

"Almost noon." Scully sat up tried to compose herself.

"Fox!?" A voice boomed from the hallway and there was the sound of someone coming up the stairs.

A look of fear crossed Mulder's face and he quickly stood up off the bed. Scully hurried to do the same.

"Fox, why aren't you at school?" Mr. Mulder asked, opening the bedroom door. His eyes landed on Scully, and she felt like she might be sick.

"Teacher in-service day." Mulder said calmly, squaring his shoulders.

"Who's she?" Scully refused to look away as Mr. Mulder's eyes bored into her.

"This is Dana Scully…my girlfriend."

"Scully? Yea, I think I know your dad. He's a nice guy."

Scully gave a curt nod but didn't say anything. She didn't want to risk losing her temper, but it was hard when she thought about what she'd seen before.

"Well, Fox keep an eye out for those damn kids stealing our trash cans!" he closed the door as he left, and Scully let out a sigh of relief that she didn't even know she was holding.

"Let's go ahead and go." Scully suggested, and Mulder nodded. He grabbed the tape they'd shot in the woods and put it in his backpack. After a second of consideration, he pulled the movie out of the vhr and put the tape in the camera.

"In case we see something." He explained.

Scully had no idea what he expected to see on the way to the hospital, but she didn't protest. The ride to the hospital was quiet. She wondered if he was thinking about his dad.

"Are you okay?" she asked, trying not to sound like she was prying.

"You mean because of earlier?" he drummed his fingers along the steering wheel and kept his eyes forward. "Nah. I mean, if you really want, I could get us some protection at the drug store."

That's not at all what she meant, but she didn't press the issue as they pulled up into the parking lot.

Molly was on the third floor, and as they approached the room, Scully was surprised to see someone standing just outside.

"Oh…hey." Jack looked over at them.

"Hey." Scully nodded, awkwardly. What was he doing here? Oh wait…wasn't he Molly's partner for the project?

"Uh, I'll be right back." Mulder said, noticing a snack machine at the end of the hall. "You go on ahead inside."

The quarters clinked in the machine as Mulder pushed the buttons for a bag of sunflower seeds. He groaned in frustration as the bag got stuck.

"Really? Oh, give me a break." He banged on the glass.

Suddenly, something slammed into the side of the machine and the bag fell to the bottom.

"Thanks…" Mulder nodded at Jack as he reached for the bag in the bottom of the machine.

"No problem…listen, I wanna talk to you." He leaned back against the wall.

"What about?" Mulder tore open the bag.

"It's just…I'm really glad you and Dana are together."

"What? What makes you think we're together?" Was he being sarcastic? Was he going to punch Mulder? He'd never been in a real fight before. Well, at least they were in a hospital if Jack did break his nose.

"I saw you kiss her at school yesterday…" Jack laughed.

"Oh…well…yeah." Mulder nodded, ready to get punched.

"Well, I'm glad. I mean, all that stuff with you and me in middle school…it was stupid."

"I always thought so." Mulder tried not to sound bitter.

"I mean, you know the only reason we called you Spooky was because…"

"Because you hated me?"

"No! Because we were jealous of you. You always got the best grades and stuff –and you like the best one on the lacrosse team. Anyways, it was stupid and I'm sorry."

"It's whatever." Mulder shrugged. "It was a long time ago. It doesn't matter."

He shoved the bag of seeds into the pocket of his jacket and turned back towards Molly's room.

"Oh, just one more thing…" Jack started. "If you and Dana are dating, why do you call each other by your last names?"

"If you have to ask," Mulder couldn't help but smile. "Then you wouldn't understand!"

"What exactly am I looking at?" Molly asked. She sat in the hospital bed and looked at the small tv on the wall. Mulder, Scully, and Molly's dad all stood around it.

"Does it look familiar at all?" Mulder asked expectantly.

"Familiar like what? It's just a bunch of flashing lights."

"Mulder, what are you doing?" Scully shook her head. "Molly's doctor just said she probably passed out from exhaustion."

"You're sure it doesn't look like anything you might have seen?" Mulder turned to Molly's dad. "What about you, sir?" If he really was the Thinker, he'd have seen this kind of thing before.

"What do you mean?" he just shook his head.

"Well, Molly said that you believed in that sort of thing…."

"Thing…?"

"Aliens." Mulder was getting frustrated.

"Aliens? What the hell? Molly, are you telling kids at school that I'm crazy?"

"What? No!" Molly glared at Mulder. "It's just—you told me you didn't think it was human, that thing killing your cows…"

"I never said it was aliens! What idiot thinks that?"

"But you told me you saw a ufo one time!"

"That was a long time ago! Me and your uncle…we thought we saw something…we were both kinda drunk. It might have been an airplane…"

"I don't believe this!" Mulder ejected the tape and put it in his backpack. "So, you're not the Thinker?"

"The what?" he was really looking at Mulder like he was crazy.

"Never mind." Mulder practically stomped out of the room.

"Your friend is weird." Scully heard Molly's dad say as she followed Mulder.  
"Fox isn't my friend. He's just a guy in my class…"

"Mulder, are you okay…" Scully followed him out into the hall.

"I was so close Scully…" His voice was tired, and his back was to her. He tossed his jacket and backpack onto a chair in the waiting room. "I really thought we finally got somewhere…"

"Mulder, I'm sorry." She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't believe this!"

"It's okay Mulder, there's still time to start over…."

"Start over?"

"The project….we can figure something else out…"

"The project? This is about more than that! This is about finding the truth!"

"The truth? Mulder, did you really think we were gonna get that far? What did you think we were going to do? Find an alien and take it to class?"

"Don't patronize me, Scully!" he said bitterly, shrugging her off.

"I'm sorry, it's just…there's nothing else for us to do right now…"

"Scully, do you think my sister was abducted by aliens?"

She was surprised at how blunt the question was.

"I believe…that that's what you believe." He only scoffed at her answer. "Listen, Mulder…I know things are hard because of your sister…I know how it is with your family…and with your father."

"My father?!" he practically yelled. "What do you know about my father?!"

"I know he hit you!" Scully snapped. "Why would you let him do that? Why do you let people treat you like crap?"

"You don't understand anything!" Mulder marched towards the elevator. "Why? Why did you agree to do my idea for the project? Is it because you feel sorry for me? Spooky Mulder with no friends?!"

"It was never like that!" She couldn't believe he would even suggest that.

"Then why? Why do we hang out all the time?"

"Because!" did he really have to ask? "Because I love you!" She cried more times since meeting Mulder than in probably two years before.

"Well…that's not good enough sometimes." The elevator opened and he stepped inside.

"Where are you going?" he swiped at her eyes with her sleeve.

"I just need to get out." He said as the doors began to close.

"Mulder, don't go…Fox!" Scully's calls were fruitless. He didn't look at her as the doors closed.

Scully sat dejectedly in the waiting room. Mulder had left his backpack and his jacket. There was a pin on one strap of an alien giving her a peace sign. She'd never felt less at peace.

"Hey Dana." She didn't look up at the sound of Jack's voice.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No."

"Do you…do you need a ride home?"

"No." Suddenly, she lifted her head as an idea struck her. "Actually, could you give me a ride…to the park?"

"The park? Why?"

"I'm gonna go on the hiking trail." She told him, standing up.

"What for?"

"I still have work to do." She was thinking of the pact she and Mulder had made. "I still have research to do for the project."


	10. Finale

The sun was setting and the stars were just coming out as Mulder laid out on his roof. He'd managed to swipe a few beers from the fridge shortly after he got home. This was his last one but it was warm now. Still, anything to numb whatever it was he was feeling. He took a final swing of it before tossing the empty bottle off the roof and into the bushes behind the house.

He should probably go back inside before it got too cold. He should also call Scully. Oh, Scully…he couldn't believe what happened today. Had he really left her there to walk home? God, he was such an ass. He should make sure she got home safely.

As he sat up, slightly dizzy from the drink, he realized the last time he'd drank was on the first day of school. Not only had he not had the time or chance to, he also hadn't had the urge. Being with Scully made him feel different…like maybe he was actually worth something.

 _Because I love you!_

He climbed in through his window and stood for a moment, trying to regain his composure while the room spun a bit. Did she really mean that? Probably. He didn't feel like he was worthy of that, but he also didn't think she was the type to lie about that.

He went downstairs and grabbed the phone. It had a cord, so he was forced to sit by it as he dialed Scully's number.

"Hello?" it was a girl's voice, probably her sister's.

"Uh, yeah, is Scully there?" his voice slurred only slightly.

"What? I thought she was with you. She hasn't come home yet and it's almost dark."

No. No. What did she mean Scully hadn't come home yet!?

"Okay. I'll find her." Mulder said quickly before placing the phone back down.

If she wasn't at home, then where could she be? It wasn't like he could ask anyone. The only person there had been…Jack! He could call Jack and ask if he saw Scully leave.

He reached instinctively for the phone book under the side table and paused. He couldn't even remember Jack's last name. He knew it began with a W because Jack was always at the end of the line when they lined up by last name.

He picked up the phone again and hit redial.

"What?" Scully's sister answered again.

"What's Jack's last name?" Mulder was impatient.

"Why? You think Dana went with him somewhere?" she laughed a little. Mulder didn't think it was very funny, and tried desperately to get that image out of his head. "Hold on, we actually have his number in our contact book."

He was starting to get a little angry as he dialed the number she'd given him. He didn't know what he wanted to hear. Whether Scully was with him or lost –either way he was going to be sick.

"Hello?"

"Where's Scully?" he didn't waste any time with formalities.

"What, you feel bad now about abandoning her?"

"Don't give me that crap. Where is she? Is she with you?" Mulder didn't care about getting on bad terms with him again. They'd had bad blood for six years, and he didn't care either way.

"No, I dropped her off at the park. She said she was going to finish some stuff for your project."

"No!" Mulder slammed the phone down.

What? What was she thinking going into the woods at night! Didn't they make a deal not to go in by themselves? Well, they'd also made a bet that if he could kiss her then they had to finish the project.

Maybe she wasn't out there anymore. Maybe she'd sat out there, realized nothing was going to happen, and left. But where else could she be? The library! She must be finishing up work at the library.

As he put on his shoes and prepared to leave, he'd never been more grateful that aliens hadn't landed tonight.

He couldn't find his denim jacket, so he settled for an old flannel jacket. He also realized that he left his jacket and backpack at the hospital. He didn't have the money to replace the camera inside, but he couldn't think about that now.

The streetlights were just coming on as Mulder stepped outside. He was only a little buzzed, but he still didn't think he should drive. He tore off in the direction of the school as fast as possible.

 _Please be at school._

The gym was unlocked for the basketball team's practice. Mulder pushed open the doors and went inside. He ignored a call of "Hey Spooky, what's up?" from someone on the bleachers as he went towards the doors that led to the hallway.

"Scully?" Mulder called as he finally got to the library.

"Shh!" was the only response from the librarian. "Students working after school hours are required to still follow library rules."

"Yea, whatever." Mulder ignored her and began darting up and down the aisles.

It was no use. She wasn't here. He only prayed that she was still out and that everything was okay. If only he had a way to check and see if there were any sightings tonight, he'd at least know if she was in danger.

Wait…there was a way! He could check his email on one of the library's computers for something from the Thinker. He wished he really knew who this guy was. It would be so much easier to get to the truth that way.

He sat down and logged on. He hadn't check it in a few days, but there was only one new email.

 _Dear Anonymous,_

 _It is with my better judgement that I must put an end to our correspondence. I'm afraid neither of us are going to get any closer to the truth we seek given our limited resources. I also fear that you may be putting yourself in danger the longer you search._

 _What I'm trying to say is, don't go into the woods anymore. It's dangerous and it's not worth the grade._

 _Best wishes,_

 _The Thinker._

He blinked and reread the message.

 _It's not worth the grade._

It was then that Mulder knew the identity of his informant.

Mulder took a chance by going down to Mr. Barren's classroom. He was surprised to find the door was open. He was even more surprised to find the teacher inside.

He was sitting with his feet up on the desk and a cigarette between his fingers. The window was cracked a bit, and he was gazing out with a sad sort of look on his face.

"It's you." Mulder was slightly out of breath. "You're the Thinker."

Mr. Barren slowly turned to look at Mulder standing in the doorway. He ground his cigarette into the ashtray on his desk and stood up.

"I had a hunch you were the person I was corresponding with…." He didn't look at Mulder as he spoke. "I'm glad you took my advice and didn't go into the woods. After what happened to that girl Molly, you can't be too careful."

"But…" a million questions ran through his mind and he didn't know what to ask first. "But why? You…believe in…aliens?" the last word almost choked him. "Why?"

"My daughter…." He turned to look out the window again. "She was only ten years old when the visitors took her."

"My sister was eight." Mulder tried to keep his voice level but it was hard. "—And Scully could be next if we don't save her!"

"She went out there alone? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know!" he lied. "But we have to go after her! Is your car here?"

"You didn't drive here?" Mr. Barren grabbed his keys from the desk.

"Uh –no. I didn't." he scratched at the back of his neck and kept his eyes down.

"Are you…drunk?" Mulder leaned back a bit as Mr. Barren leaned in towards him.

"Can we please not do this now? My girlfriend's life may be hanging in the balance!"

"Just don't throw up in my car." They stepped into the hallway and he slammed the door behind them.

It wasn't the drink that made him nauseous. It was the thought of Scully getting taken away before they could get to her. Mulder kept his eyes pointed down at the floorboards and the air conditioner pointed at his face.

"Tell me again, why did Dana go out there?" Mr. Barren rolled down his window before lighting another cigarette.

"She went to do more research for our video project."

"But don't you two know how dangerous that is?!"

"Yes! I know!" Mulder sighed. "But we had a deal…we have to make a B on it…"

"Only a B? Why aren't you shooting for an A?"

"Well, an A's kinda high…I mean, you know how you are."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"I shouldn't have never left her alone today." He sighed and put his head in his lap.

"You had a fight?" the teacher's voice was surprisingly sympathetic.

"It was so stupid." Mulder's face was still down. "I said she didn't believe…which she doesn't, but still."

"You know Fox," They pulled into the parking lot by the playground. "People like us, believers, we just have to accept that not everyone will believe –in fact, most people don't. That's sort of why my wife and I split up after my daughter disappeared."

"Yea, yea…"

"But you know, just because Dana doesn't believe in the visitors, doesn't mean she doesn't believe in you or that she doesn't love you…"

"Yea, yea, I get it." Mulder was feeling way too sick to take relationship advice from his divorced chain smoking teacher.

Mr. Barren turned off the car and Mulder got out and made a beeline for the woods.

"Hey, wait!" Mr. Barren grabbed a flashlight from his glove compartment before following him.

The autumn leaved crunched under Scully's sneakers as she made her way through the hiking trail. Mulder's jacket was too big for her, but she had it on anyways. Its smell was comforting and it was chilly out.

She held the camera in her hands and found herself glancing up at the sky every few seconds. She didn't know what she wanted to see. She turned it on and began recording just for something to do.

"This is Dana Scully…" she said aloud as she filmed the ground. She felt like she was on one of those ghost hunting tv shows. "My partner isn't with me today, he had…a commitment. But let's see what we can find anyways…"

She hiked all the way to the cliff and didn't see anything unusual. She didn't want to waste any of the battery or tape so she turned off the camera and sat down. The city lights looked so pretty from up high. Scully reached into the pocket of Mulder's jacket, but there were only sunflower seeds. She didn't care much for them, but she found herself cracking the shells between her teeth anyways. They tasted just like when she kissed him.

 _Because I love you!_

She really dropped the ball on that one. Why did she have to say that? She meant it, sure, but there was a time and a place to say it, and in the middle of a fight wasn't the best.

Well, whatever. There wasn't anything she could do about it now, and he wanted to stay mad, then that's just how it was going to be. She knew she couldn't ever really understand his pain, she'd never lost a sibling, and her father would rather die than lay a hand on her.

She laid back on the ground, using Mulder's backpack as a pillow. She watched the stars and kept one hand on the camera just in case.

She hadn't even realized she's fallen asleep until a noise woke her. It sounded like something like a car wreck in the woods. The ground tremored and she scrambled back from the cliff's edge. She turned the camera on and stood up on shaky legs. It was dark as she walked back through the trail.

"This is Dana Scully…" she said again aloud. "And I'm hoping that noise was just a bear! Let's go see…"

The ground shook again as she walked towards one of the clearings that people camped in. It was dark, but she could just make out the roots and stumps on the ground so she wouldn't trip.

The clearing was empty save for the ground, which had deep impressions in the dirt.

"Oh my god, hold on…" she pointed the camera down. "Are you seeing this, Mulder? It's just like you said."

The next quake was so powerful that she found herself falling to her knees. Suddenly there was a blinding light. She squeezed her eyes shut but it did little to block out the light. The camera slipped from her grasp and rolled onto the ground as she shielded her eyes.

She began to feel very sick. She fell down onto her side and found she couldn't get up. When she finally pried her eyes open, she couldn't see anything but a bright light. Through it, the silhouette of something human was walking towards her.

"Scully!? Scully, where are you!?" she could hear Mulder's voice coming from very far away. Her head was spinning and she wondered if she was really hearing it at all.

"Mulder…" she whispered, forcing her eyes shut as the figure came closer.

Very cold hands grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her up. Her feet were no longer touching the ground as the cold hands lifted her higher. She could feel her toes barely scraping the ground as the figure held her. Still, she did not open her eyes.

"Scully!" Mulder's voice sounded closer.

The cold grip on her shoulders loosened and Scully fell to the ground hard. There was another tremor and the bright light vanished.

It was now dark and silent. She blinked and saw only an empty clearing. There was a noise like rustling leaves and someone running. Through the darkness she could see someone standing on the edge of the clearing.

"Scully!" Mulder ran to her and bent down beside her. "Scully, are you okay?"

"Mulder, you were right…" she said weakly, sitting up. "I saw them…"

"It doesn't matter." He said quickly. He pulled her towards him in a crushing hug. She doesn't even know why, but she finds herself tearing up again.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" she can hear that he's crying too. He hold her tighter and she presses her face against his shoulder.

They stay like that for a minute, holding each other. After a moment, Scully pulls back.

"Mulder, how did you know where I was?"

Before he could answer, she sees someone else come into the clearing holding a flashlight.

"Are you kids okay?" Scully recognized the voice of their teacher.

"What the –Mr. Barren, what are you doing here?" she asks him.

"Get this, Scully." Mulder stood up and offered her his hand. "He's the Thinker!"

"What? Really?" She stood up and it took a moment before her head stopped spinning.

"I never meant to endanger you kids." He sighed. "I didn't think you'd actually come out here and look for the visitors."

"But they took my sister…and your daughter…." Mulder took his backpack from Scully and swung it over his shoulders.

"I know that, and not a day goes back that I don't hate it. But getting killed isn't the answer. There's nothing we can do now. Not as long as the government hides their contact with the visitors. Now, let's get out of here before I have a heart attack."

"Oh…the camera!" Scully picked it up and turned it off. "I was recording! I saw all these flashing lights, and…something else. I wonder what it picked up."

"We can watch it later." Mulder put the camera in his backpack. "Let's go home."

There was so much Scully wanted to say to him, but she didn't get the chance as they both rode awkwardly in Mr. Barren's car.

"Do you really think you got something on tape?" Mr. Barren asked Scully.

"I think so…I mean, I dropped the camera, but I definitely got something."

"Hey…" Mulder took the camera out of his backpack. "I just realized you taped over my Wayne's World!"

"Mulder…shut up."

"Did you watch the tape?" Scully asked Mulder the next morning. Neither of them felt like going to school, but they'd already missed the day before.

"Yep! And you'll never believe what's on it!" he seemed to excited to comment on the fact that she was still wearing his jacket as she got into his car.

"What?"

"A spaceship!" he slapped his hands on the wheel excitedly.

"Really?" she shivered a bit as she thought of the ship she saw last night.

"Well, you can only see part of it because you dropped the camera….but yes!"

"That's amazing!" she leaned back in her seat.

"I know….and even though it's not much…It's something. I'm that much closer to the truth…."

They were a little late to class and Mr. Barren was already writing on the board.

"Sit down you guys, I have an announcement."

"You're retiring?!" Mulder asked hopefully.

Half the class gasped and Scully accidently laughed a little too loud.

"Not yet." He actually smiled. "Now sit down and shut up, Fox."

"Nice one, Spooky." Somebody whispered as Mulder and Scully ignored the seating chart and took seats next to each other.

"And stop that!" Mr. Barren snapped. "If I hear that stupid nickname in my classroom one more time…" He sighed and regained his composure.

"I'm giving you all a new assignment." He announced and everyone collectively groaned. "Quiet. It's a paper, all about what you've learned this semester. It doesn't have to be from this class, just anything you've learned. It should be easy, right? You're all up and coming young adults...even if you don't act like it."

"What about the video thing?" someone asked.

"Well, here's the deal. I feel like I've put too much pressure on you all. I'm going to let you turn in anything you've done for that and I'll grade it on a scale."

"Dude, good thing I haven't even started on it…" someone whispered and the class laughed again.

"What are you going to do with the tape now?" Scully asked Mulder at lunch.

"Put it on the internet." He said without even having to think about it. "I was talking to the guys last night, and they said I could put it on their website."

"Well, it's hardly bringing down the government," she smiled. "But it'll do."

"One step at a time, Scully. We'll get there one day."

When Mulder pulled into his driveway after school, he was surprised to see his father's car was gone, but his mother was waiting for him on the steps.

"Mom, what is it?" he opened the door to get out.

"Come on Fox, let's take a drive." His mother walked around and got in on the passenger's side.

"O—kay?" he closed his door and pulled out. "Anywhere in particular?"

"I'll let you know when we get there." She smiled at him for the first time in a while.

"Mom…where's dad?" Mulder asked after they'd been driving for a bit.

"He left…I kicked him out." She didn't sound particularly upset.

"You…?"

"I got a call today from one of your teachers. He said he saw bruises on your arm. He threated to call the police. I said there was no need…I hung up, and I kicked your father out."

Mulder thought of every time his father had laid a hand on him. To never have to worry about that again? It was surreal. He stared ahead at the road, not quite sure what to say, or how to feel.

"What teacher was it?" his voice was a whisper.

"He said he was your homeroom teacher."

"Oh…that's what I thought." He was starting to feel a bit elated.

"Let's go to that nice hamburger place you like." She smiled. "I know it's a bit out of the way."

"I don't mind." Mulder was unable to stop smiling. "I like driving with you, Mom."

"Do you remember going there for Samantha's birthday?"

It was the first time his mother had said his sister's name in years. The image of having hamburgers and ice cream with his sister filled his mind.

"Yea…" he was still smiling even as he felt tears in his eyes. "Yea, I remember that."

"Oh, and another thing, Fox." She looked at him and laughed. "Why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend!?"

"Did you do your paper yet?" Scully asked him. The two of them sat up on Mulder's roof watching the sunset. The window was open, and the soft sound of the radio on his desk played in the background.

"No, I was kinda busy all weekend." Mulder tossed a few sunflower seed shells off the roof. "My mom and I went into Samantha's room and boxed up some of her stuff."

"You did?" Scully's eyes widened. She understood how hard that must have been. She slid her hand out from the pocket of his jacket that she was still wearing and took his hand.

"Yea, we decided to donate her clothes." He rubbed his thumb along the tops of her knuckles. "Because once she comes back, she'll be too big for them anyways."

"Right." Scully smiled and laid back on the roof. He did the same. It was quiet for a while, just the soft music filling the space between them.

"What?" She asked when she saw him looking at her with a sort of half-smile on his face.

"You're so beautiful…" he whispered.

"Stop…" she smiled, looking away with a deep blush on her cheeks.

"I love you, Scully." When he said it, she knew he was being serious.

"I love you too, Mulder."

It grew quiet again. The silence between them was content and relaxing. Sometimes you didn't have to say anything.

"You know, Mulder. I know that one day you will find whatever truth you're seeking…and I'm gonna be with you when you do."

"Thanks…partner." He sat up. "Oh, that reminds me. I bought something when I was out today…"

"Hmm?" she sat up too and looked at him.

"Protection." He blushed.

"Oh good, I'm tired being bit by mosquitoes." Scully smiled.

"Do you wanna…go inside?" he asked her. "We –we don't have to…"

"No, I want to." She turned and climbed in the window. "Just promise I won't have to do all the work, okay, partner? Deal?"

He followed her inside and took her face in his hands.

"Okay partner…deal." He kissed her again.

The End.


End file.
